


Finding Peace

by CaptMickey



Category: King's Quest (Video Games)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Graham needs hugs all the time, especially since he misses a purple knight, is it Grachaka? Sure!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-12
Updated: 2018-11-12
Packaged: 2019-08-22 11:09:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,319
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16596743
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaptMickey/pseuds/CaptMickey
Summary: Graham knew he should have done more for Achaka... and that guilt is eating at him.





	Finding Peace

His lungs felt like it was on fire as he ran as fast as possible through the musty cave-like labyrinth beneath the well. Graham wasn’t sure whether or not he was still being chased after but was too scared to look over his shoulder in fear that the dragon or… or whatever that thing was, was still on his metaphorical tail. 

He slammed hard against the wet wall and looked around in a panic. The door… the door was suppose to be here, why isn’t it here? Graham, in a moment panic, began slapping his hands against the dead-end in hopes that perhaps the door became a secret entry and he just needed to find the right rock or… or perhaps fall through it like an invisible entry. Just something… anything!

It was just then when he felt a shadow cast over him, the feeling of dread brewing at the pit of his stomach. Cautiously, Graham looked up when that dread became relief at the familiar purple armor.

“Achaka!” Graham proclaimed. “Y-you came!” 

With no hesitation, feeling a sense of security and safety, he extended his arm out for Achaka, when the purple knight slowly reached for his own helmet to pull it off. And in an instant, that warm feeling shifted to horror as underneath the helmet was that of a decaying skull.

His eyes widen at the sight as it began to cave in, turning into ash and…

…Graham woke up. 

He was covered in a cold sweat and tears, his arm still up as if reaching for something… someone. It was that same dream… that same nightmare thats been haunting the young king for what felt like years. 

He didn’t bother wiping away the hot stinging tears that were still pouring as he felt himself being drowned by an overwhelming sense he grew all too familiar with. The one that made it feel like his stomach was tight in an impossible knot, that breathing felt labored and borderline impossible at times, where suddenly the idea of food made him cringe and nauseous.

Guilt.

Covering his face and taking in a shuddering breath, Graham curled himself into a ball, trying to muffle that sobs that were threatening to burst as he fell back into his usual cycle of questioning and belittling himself. He was there… he was THERE! He was in that accursed cave where HE was and yet… and yet…

He selfishly took  _his_  bow. He had the audacity of shaking  _his arm_ like it was a venomous snake. He had the gull of just going straight for the mirror and… and what’s the point of honoring  _him_  if he just LEAVES him there. He should have done more… he should have not just taken the mirror but at the very least, Graham should have taken Achaka’s remains back to be properly buried. 

…He deserved that much…

–

“I’m going back in there.” Graham decided, adjusting the familiar red cape around his neck.

“What? Why?” Larry tilted his head, watching Graham adjusting the feather cap on his head.

“I… Achaka never got a proper burial… and to leave him there is just, i-i-it’s an insult. He deserves to be properly buried and I wouldn’t have been king if it wasn’t for him. It’s my fault…” Graham’s voice quivered slightly and he quickly shut his eyes, shaking his head slightly to try and stay focus. “I’ll be back.”

“Absolutely not!” Kyle declared. 

“I agree!” Larry soon chimed. “You mustn’t leave the castle.”

“Why not?” The young king side-eyed the knight, “I’ve been in there before and it… it should be–”

He felt himself being pushed back into his throne, falling into it with an ungraceful thud as his cap fell over his eyes. With a slight grumble, Graham adjusted it, revealing exhausted and angry eyes at the knights. 

“For starters, you look like you haven’t slept in months, sire.” Kyle began lecturing. “And to go in your state is a horrible decision. You could twist your ankle or get your cape snagged underneath and drown.”

“And it goes without saying but… you’re no longer a knight, Graham. You’re a King. And Daventry needs it’s king… it needs you.” Larry spoke.

“You don’t need to do things alone anymore.” Kyle added, “You have knights– you have us to help!”

Graham’s stomach churned at the idea, thinking of how that must have been the thought Achaka had when he was selflessly saving his life from that dragon. He merely looked down to the floor.

Larry nodded his head, “Exactly. And besides, we can have Acorn and Whisper go in there and–”

“NO!” Graham’s voice boomed through the throne room as he stood up from his seat. “I won’t… I can’t have anymore people go in there… not when that dragon is still there. Or… or could be there. I just… I can’t….” He slumped back into his throne and slouched over his knees, covering his face. “I can’t.”

He flinched at feeling Larry’s hand on his head, glancing slightly upwards with his tear-stained face to the two knights. 

“Just tell us what to do.”

–

With Whisper and Acorn leading the battalion, one could have thought that the Knights of Daventry went off to war in that cave. But instead there were no triumphant trumpets or flags waving high in the name of King Graham.

Instead, it was just silence save for the sounds of the armors clanking back to the castle, surrounding a cart holding a figure covered in a shroud.

Graham stood at the entryway of the castle, Larry and Kyle standing loyally to one side and another guard to his other. Whisper spotted the familiar former knight and raised his hand up to halt the march. Say what you will about the shiny knight, but when his mind is focus and serious, it is a terrifying sight. 

Acorn and Whisper stepped aside, allowing Graham to walk up to the cart. He saw the shrouded figure and placed his hand over it, almost terrified of lifting it to be revealed a decaying skull that plagued his thoughts. Instead, Graham just placed a hand where Achaka’s chest would be and took a shuddering breath, feeling his throat tightening and his eyes stinging. 

He didn’t want to cry… not in front of all the knights. He already heard a few words being said about him around the castle. Instead, he felt the giant hand of Acorn and saw through the helmet that the giant knight was giving him a sympathetic stare. 

Graham glanced back at the cart and did Achaka’s salute. 

–

The funeral felt like it went on forever, even though at most it was just Graham, Acorn, Whisper, Larry and Kyle. They were the only ones who knew of Achaka and knew him more or less the way Graham described him.

In the darkness, Graham simply stared up at the ceiling of his bedroom, thinking over the day’s event when he noticed something from the corner of his eye. Feeling his heart pounding, Graham quickly reached over to light the candle, thinking the worst was in his room when he noticed it.

It was him.

It was Achaka.

Graham stared at the familiar purple knight but the odd thing was… he didn’t feel scared. There was a new feeling Graham had… one that he didn’t feel for a long time since back when he first saw Achaka in the cave.

Peace.

He stared at Achaka who simply looked around the room and gave a nod. Graham gave a soft smile as he watched the purple knight leave the room…

…and he wakes up. Placing a hand over his chest, Graham tried to keep that warm feeling, not wanting it to fade away like ember. He missed Achaka… and he would keep missing him. 

But there was a nice comforting feeling knowing that in some way, Achaka was watching over him.


End file.
